


strawberries and milk tea

by CECELlA



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Cute, F/F, LGBTQ Themes, Light Angst, Nervousness, Pining, Plot twist?, Secret Crush, nervous jiwoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:34:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24791668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CECELlA/pseuds/CECELlA
Summary: Jiwoo felt a surge of butterflies whenever she was around the beauty Sooyoung, and now they had to work together on a class project. Is this the opportunity to become apart of Sooyoung's life that Jiwoo had been hoping for?
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Kim Jiwoo | Chuu
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56





	strawberries and milk tea

Jiwoo couldn’t ignore the pounding of her heart in her chest. She was...nervous, to say the least, being this close to Sooyoung. Sitting next to her in class was always the hardest, yet most exhilarating part of her day. 

She didn’t know she would fall head over heels for a girl she didn’t even know before starting this course, but here Jiwoo is, desperately trying to control her racing pulse and blushing face.

"Come on Jiwoo, it’s not like you haven’t sat next to a pretty girl before, you can do this," Jiwoo thought to herself as she stared down at her notebook, pretending to look over notes as the professor continued their lecture 

__“Hey, hey.”_ _

__Jiwoo turned to her right to see the object of her current dilemma staring at her expectantly, with her leaning towards Jiwoo._ _

__Needless to say, Jiwoo felt like her heart was going to leap out of her chest._ _

__“Aa-ah, hi?”_ _

__Real smooth, Jiwoo, real smooth._ _

__“Super sorry to bother you, but do you have a pen I could borrow? I left my pencil bag at my dorm,” Sooyoung said with the most endearing smile on her face._ _

__“Oh a pen? Yeah I just have so many pens, too many for me to even count, just..uh let me look into my bag.” Jiwoo fumbled with the zipper on her bag, her hands shaking nervously, “Ah, I swear I had one in here, where is that thing....”_ _

__Sooyoung suddenly grasped her hand with hers and asked, “Are you okay? You’re shaking a lot, you should make sure to dress warmly, especially since it’s been getting so cold lately.”_ _

__Jiwoo had never felt warmer in her entire life, all of the blood rushing to her face and to the tips of her ears ensured that. She looked away, unable to make eye contact with the pretty girl without wanting to combust into a tiny million pieces._ _

__She picked up the pen from her desk and handed it to her, “You can just use this one, I know there’s another one in my bag, but here.”_ _

__“Are you sure? Thank you so much…uhhh” Sooyoung trailed off, “It has just occurred to me that I don’t know your name even though we've been sitting next to each other for weeks now.”_ _

__Jiwoo smiled a bit nervously. “It’s totally okay, my name is Kim Jiwoo, and your name is?”_ _

__Sooyoung donned another dazzling smile as she extended her hand out to Jiwoo, “My name is Ha Sooyoung, it’s so nice to meet you.”_ _

__She clasped her hand in Sooyoung’s soft hand and shook it gently. “Likewise.”_ _

__Jiwoo tried her best to continue focusing on the lecture for the rest of the class, but all she could think about how warm Sooyoung’s smile was, how her hands felt in hers, and how her hair looked so soft._ _

__“Jiwoo, want to be partners?”_ _

__The girl immediately turned around, blushing furiously. “P-par-partners?”_ _

__“Yeah, for the project the professor gave us?”_ _

__“Oh,” Jiwoo sighed, clutching her chest, “Yes, that sounds great. When can we meet up?”_ _

__“My schedule is kinda full, why don’t you give me your number so that we can talk about it later?” Sooyoung asked._ _

__“Ah, yea sure, here let me write it down for you.”_ _

__And somehow, in one class period, Jiwoo managed to secure the number of a really pretty girl. Maybe everything can go right for her._ _

__.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
._ _

__One week later, Jiwoo sat nervously in the library, waiting for her... _partner _to arrive. Just a project partner, nothing more. Although she dreamt- fantasized, that it can be more than just one time a day in class that she can see her current object of her desires. What would it feel like to just be with her, to hold her hand and kiss her-___ _

____“Jiwoo!” Sooyoung sat down across from her, breaking Jiwoo out from her reverie, “So sorry I’m late, I had to meet with someone really quickly and I completely lost track of time. Hope you weren’t waiting for too long.”_ _ _ _

____She sat up, very startled and started to wave her hands as if it was nothing, “Oh no, I understand, you’re a very busy person, I mean hey we all are, we’re in university and all.”_ _ _ _

_____“Jiwoo, shut up before you say more stupid things,” _she thought to herself.__ _ _ _ _

______“Anyways, let’s just get started on the project, okay?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Yeah, let’s get to it.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______It was very hard for Jiwoo to not just outright stare at her stunning project partner and focus on working. But they managed to get a good amount of the work done before they called it a day._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Hey Jiwoo, are you doing anything after this?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Jiwoo looked up from packing her bag and said, “Oh well, I was planning on just going back to my dorm after this, so no, not really. Why do you ask?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Because I was wondering if I could take you out for coffee? You know, to make up for me being late,” the pretty girl smiled apologetically._ _ _ _ _ _

______And there goes Jiwoo’s heart, it’s like Sooyoung shot an arrow through her heart even though she was already hopelessly in love with her._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I would love to go!” she yelled maybe a little bit too excitedly, “Uh I mean, yeah sure that’s cool.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Sooyoung giggled, “Alright, let’s go then.”_ _ _ _ _ _

_______“Her giggle is to die for, how could she literally get any cuter?” _Jiwoo pondered as they walked side by side to the coffee shop, but it suddenly started raining. The cool October wind grazed her exposed legs and arms, peppering goosebumps all over her, as she chose to wear a blouse and skirt today.__ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Great idea Jiwoo, wear your cutest yet most exposed outfit on the day it’s literally supposed to rain. How am I gonna-” she berated herself in her head as she shivered ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Her thought was stopped mid sentence when she felt this warm sensation suddenly, she looked at her now covered frame because the Literal Girl of her dreams just wrapped her jacket around her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You looked a little bit cold, we wouldn’t want you getting sick when you still have to do your part of the project right?” Sooyoung said in a joking manner._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Are you, uh, you sure you’re not cold?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Sooyoung scoffed, “Nah, plus I think you need that jacket more than I do. You know, it actually looks pretty good with that outfit you got on right now, you even look better in it than I do.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Jiwoo.exe stopped working._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Fortunately for her, she was able to use her legs to move herself to the university cafe. Although it was one of many various cafes, this was one of Jiwoo’s favorites. Of course, she never drinks coffee too often because, and as her best friend and roommate Jungeun stated, “You practically bounce off the walls when you’re even slightly caffeinated.” Jiwoo was already pretty high energy so the coffee did nothing to abate that. But the cafe had lovely tea selections, so she could come here without annoying her friend._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Sipping on a black tea with just a bit of milk, she sat down across from Sooyoung, who was drinking a latte. But there was a certain bit of awkwardness. The silence between them was palpable._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________“Come on Jiwoo, there must be SOMETHING you can think of to say, you’ve been dreaming of talking to her for so long, just say something, anything is better than this,” _Jiwoo thought before taking another sip of her tea.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“So...how are classes?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________“THAT’S THE BEST YOU COULD COME UP WITH?” ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Oh, well they’re...going,” Sooyooung chuckled, “To be honest, my grades are not where I want them to be. Which is why I was meeting up with my-”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Sooyoung stopped herself before she could finish that sentence, and looked away, not wanting to make eye contact with Jiwoo._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Your what?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Uh...well it was...my tutor. Yes, my tutor.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Oh! Well why didn’t you just say?” Jiwoo asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“It’s kinda embarrassing, isn’t it?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jiwoo sighed and furrowed her brows, “Admitting you need help with things isn’t embarrassing at all, university is hard. It’s a surprise that my grades are actually doing okay.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Sooyoung smiled, “Thanks Jiwoo, I guess I never thought of it like that.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________As awkward as that conversation started, the rest of the time, it flowed easily, as if they had been friends for a long time._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“So, there I was, the most terrible date of my life, the guy was totally being so rude to any of the waiters that came to our table. The whole date was absolutely agony, and I excused myself to the bathroom and escaped out the bathroom.” Sooyoung regaled as Jiwoo burst into a fit of giggles._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“After that, I would never let any of my friends set me up on a blind date, don’t want a repeat of that situation.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Wow, that sounds like the worst,” Jiwoo said while playing with the handle of her empty mug of tea._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“What about you, do you have a boyfriend?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jiwoo faltered a bit, unsure how she would say this. Coming out to new people was always the hardest part of getting to know someone. You never know exactly how they would react._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Guess there’s only one way of finding out.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Uh..no. I’m not interested in guys, like at all. I’m lesbian.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Sooyoung’s eyes widened, obviously shocked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Great, now she’s gonna tell me that she “doesn’t agree with my lifestyle” and she can’t associate with me. This was fun while it lasted.” Jiwoo thought forlornly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jiwoo stood up to go, “Listen, I understand if you don’t want to do the project with me anymore, I’ll talk to the professor to see if I can work by myself-”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Sooyoung grabbed her hand, “No no no, I still want to do the project with you, you can sit down...please?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Ignoring the heat rising to the tips of her ears, Jiwoo resumed her place sitting across from her partner._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“It’s okay that you’re gay…” Sooyoung started off, but looked around, and leaned in, talking in a low tone, “I’m actually bisexual.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________There was a mixture of emotions that Jiwoo was feeling: surprise, relief, happiness._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“But please do not tell anyone, I haven’t really come out to many people, and this is still really scary to me. My family is...one of those families that just don’t understand, still too traditional. I literally had to explain the difference between the word lesbian and lebanese because they didn’t get it.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jiwoo giggled, she understood what that was like. Her family was disappointed, to put it lightly, but they tried their best to be understanding. Overall, it was all funny in hindsight, something that you could laugh at after the fact._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Sooyoung, it’s completely fine to feel scared, I felt the exact same way when I came out the first few times,” Jiwoo leaned back in her chair, and looked off in the distance, “But the thing you have to remember is that anyone who isn’t accepting of you, your identity? Not worth your time. If people are upset by who you are, then you need to know that they don’t deserve a place in your life, you are worth the acceptance and love that you give out in return.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jiwoo returned her gaze to the girl in front of her, and saw her tearing up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“AH I’M SO SORRY, I DIDN’T MEAN TO MAKE YOU CRY I JUST-”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Sooyoung got up from her chair and gently held Jiwoo’s arm to get her to stand up as well. She looked at her, with the most melancholic smile, so strikingly beautiful._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Then she pulled her into a hug. Jiwoo felt like time stopped right then and there. The warmth that she felt on that cold October day felt as if she was standing directly in the sun. Like a grape vine, she wanted to reach towards the sky, to feel the sun, Sooyoung’s, rays._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Thank you,” Sooyoung whispered in Jiwoo’s ear, “I need to hear that right now.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jiwoo smiled, and buried herself in Sooyoung’s embrace._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“No problem, Sooyoung, no problem.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Jiwoo? Return to earth, your ramen is burning.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jiwoo was jolted from her reminscing by her roommate, Jungeun. They had been best friends for longer than either of them could remember, although both of their parents said they met around the 6th grade, which sounds about right to them. Whenever they did something, it was together. Whenever something had happened to either of them, the first thing they did was pick up the phone to text the other what had happened. Thus, Jiwoo told Jungeun about her burgeoning crush on her classmate._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Jungeun, she just has this smile that was just like aaaa and she has this hair, and those eyes, man those eyes…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jungeun looked up at Jiwoo, with a raised eyebrow. “Okay, first question.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jiwoo nodded, urging her to go on._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Does she know you exist?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“....Yes, she does.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Oooh, okay, this makes things easier then,” Jungeun leaned in with a smile, “Alright follow up question, have you successfully talked to her?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jiwoo pouted into her bowl of ramen, “Of course I have, in fact, I have talked to her MULTIPLE times. We’re partners on a project.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“WHAT, WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“BECAUSE THIS IS HOW YOU WOULD HAVE REACTED.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jungeun eagerly said, “Okay you absolutely have to tell me everything. If you leave anything out, I will kill you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Fine, fine. Let me tell you how it started…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________The next 30 minutes was spent as Jiwoo regaled her tale of gay yearning over her partner and Jungeun hanging onto her every word, giving the occasional nod and noise of approval or shock._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Hey Jungeun…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________The roommate glanced up at the nervous girl, “Yeah?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Do you think…it’s possible that she could like me back? Like she also likes girls, so do you think I could have a chance?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jungeun pondered the girl’s words for a few seconds before answering, “I mean from how she’s been with you? There’s a chance that she feels the same way? Is she like this with everyone else?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Uh...to be honest, I’m not really sure.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Hmm okay,” Jungeun bit her lip in thought, “How about this, you tell her about your crush after you finish the project? So things won’t be awkward if she ends up rejecting you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________The other girl sighed, knowing that her childhood best friend was right, as per usual._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Alright, I can do this. I can wait a couple more weeks to tell her.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________._  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
._ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________This may have been some of the hardest weeks of Jiwoo’s life. She got butterflies whenever she was around Sooyoung. But in those weeks, she got to know the person behind the pretty face. She liked teaching dance in her spare time, she volunteered at the soup kitchen, and she loved doing puzzles. Her favorite movies were comedies, but she couldn’t watch anything sad or she would burst into tears._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________It seemed like everything that Jiwoo learned about Sooyoung, it just made her fall more and more in love._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Now was the time, they just had turned in the project. Turns out both of them worked well together, which was great since neither girls wanted to get a bad grade in the project._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jiwoo had set up the meeting between them, she would confess in the cafe where they hung out for the first time. Sooyoung had told her she would be telling Jiwoo something as well. From the way it sounded, it had to be something important._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________“Maybe she’s confessing to me too? No, but maybe…” _Jiwoo thought to herself as her hand reached for the door of the cafe, _“Okay, you can do this. No time like the present.” ______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Jiwoo! Over here!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________She looked over to see Sooyoung with the brightest smile, she was practically glowing. It took everything in Jiwoo to just not stare at the radiant girl. She walked over to her classmate and sat down in the seat right across from her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“I already ordered your drink, by the way. I remembered it from last time.” Sooyoung chuckled cutely._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Oh thank you so much!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________The girls fell into casual conversation, talking about their days and whatever came up. The confession was still in the back of Jiwoo’s head, _“Okay now is a good time to do it. Come on, just tell her.” _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Jiwoo, remember when I had something to tell you?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“I actually have something to tell you too, but you can go first,” Jiwoo added on._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Alright...there’s a couple things actually. First, I got all my grades up! This project actually really helped boost my grade up. I couldn’t have done this without your help, so thank you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Jiwoo beamed in response, “Ah, you worked really hard too, it wasn’t all me working on this project.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Sooyoung’s eyes had softened and she smiled softly, “You really are an amazing person, Jiwoo. I’m glad I got to know you better. Ever since that talk about being LGBT, I’ve started to finally feel comfortable in my own sexuality, and while I’m still scared of coming out to people, I now want to fully embrace my identity as it is...Which brings me to what I have to say next.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Here’s your order, honey.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Both girls looked up to one of the employees in the cafe, a pretty girl with strawberry blonde hair._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Oh hi darling, how’s work going for you?” Sooyoung asked with a gentle voice._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________The girls continued talking as Jiwoo spiraled. Honey? Darling? Could this mean that she? That Sooyoung has a…_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Jiwoo, I’m super sorry but the thing I was going to tell you is that because of your talk, I got the courage to ask my crush out, Kahei, this is Jiwoo. Jiwoo, this is Kahei.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Kahei smiled brightly towards Jiwoo, “It’s so great to finally meet you, she’s told me a lot about you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Ah yes yes, of course, it’s great to meet you too….” Jiwoo trailed off._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________She felt the weight of this revelation encompass her entire body. This sadness, the coldness, as if the sun had been eclipsed by the unforgiving darkness. No longer did she have the giddy warmness, the autumn chill had finally reached her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Okay, I have to get back to work now. I hope you two enjoy your drinks.” Kahei said, turning to Sooyoung to give her a peck on the cheek, before going back to her station._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“She’s...an amazing girl, Sooyoung.” Jiwoo looked down at her cup, “I’m glad you found each other.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Thanks Jiwoo, now what did you have to tell me?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Oh me? It was nothing, except...I’m happy that I’m your friend, truly and honestly.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! I've been working on this for a little bit, I won't lie. I would get the motivation to work for a little bit and then I would forget. But this is the longest one shot that I've written in like ever, and I hope you all like it. i worry that many of you probably won't like it, but i'm going to post it anyways. please do leave feedback and critiques if you can, reading your comments on my stuff make me so happy ~ enjoy !


End file.
